Supporters of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Brazil's Congress and Supreme Court on Sunday to protest what they are claiming as a stolen election. To discuss, we FEATURE Heloisa Pait. Pait, a Fulbright alumna, teaches sociology at the São Paulo State University Julio de Mesquita Filho, where she investigates the role of new means of communication in democratic life. She has written on the reception of international news, on media use by Brazilian youth, and on the disruptive role of the internet in the Brazilian political environment. With her students, Heloisa investigates how various concepts of memory are aided by media uses, the role of media in shaping the need for secrecy and publicity in international relations and the nature of public protests in Brazilian cities as they relate to media environments. Media includes: The Christian Science Monitor, Guerilla Reads.

House Republicans are planning an investigation into the FBI and security agencies claiming a "weaponization of the federal government." To discuss, we FEATURE Danielle Brian, Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). Brian frequently testifies before Congress and regularly meets with Members of Congress and officials at the White House and federal agencies to discuss how to achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government. Under Brian's direction, POGO exposed wasteful spending, which led to the cancellation of some of the government’s largest contracts, including the Boeing tanker lease, the $13 billion Superconducting Super Collider, the $11 billion Army Crusader, and the Army’s Sergeant York DIVAD; uncovered oil and gas industry fraud on public lands that led to the Justice Department’s recovery of nearly half a billion dollars, rule changes to prevent future fraud, and the dismantlement of the Minerals Management Service into separate bureaus with strengthened ethics rules; investigated lax nuclear power plant security, sparking improved training and working conditions for guards; filed and won a lawsuit against then-Attorney General John Ashcroft for retroactively classifying FBI documents; and successfully pushed for reforms that bolstered both the independence and accountability of the federal Inspectors General system. Media includes: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, USA TODAY, NPR.

New coronavirus variant XBB.1.5 is said to be the most easily transmittable variant thus far, and could lead to another COVID wave. To discuss, we FEATURE Nandita Murukutla, the Vice President of Vital Strategies, a global public health organization. Murukutla is a social scientist with a background in behavioral economics. At Vital Strategies, Dr. Murukutla provides scientific leadership by ensuring that its health communication programs and policy advocacy efforts reflect the latest evidence from the social behavioral sciences. She collaborates with experts and supervises a team in primary research, monitoring and evaluation, cost-effectiveness, and policy analysis. This analysis has supported decisions by governments and other stakeholders in up to 60 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Eastern Europe in the areas of food policy, road safety and injury prevention, tobacco control, maternal and reproductive health, and more recently in the public health response to COVID-19. Media includes: STAT News, Times of India, Hindustan Times.

Romeo and Juliet actors Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey, who starred in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film, are suing Paramount for child abuse over a nude scene in the movie. They were 16 and 15 at the time. The case has opened up conversations about Hollywood's history and whether similar lawsuits will follow. To discuss, we FEATURE Dina Doll. Dina is an attorney, television legal analyst and certified mediator. She is an official legal analyst for the Law & Crime Network. She has provided countless hours of live commentary for the network involving all aspects of criminal trials including unpredictable witness testimony, pre-trial hearings and sentencing hearings. She has provided legal analysis on almost all the high-profile cases over the past year including those involving: Prince Andrew, George Floyd, Kyle Rittenhouse, Britney Spears, the Texas abortion law, Smartmatic, Dominion and Harvey Weinstein. Dina is the co-founder of the firm Doll Amir & Eley LLP where she consults on numerous civil litigation matters, including high-stakes jury trials. She is also a certified mediator, having mediated about one hundred cases in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Media includes: CNN, HLN, Access Hollywood, Spectrum News, CTV, NewsNation, TYT, Court TV, BNC, Newsmax, Medias Touch.

A new study has found that the Earth's glaciers are disappearing at a much quicker pace than scientists had originally predicted. Scientists now believe that two-thirds of glaciers will be lost by 2100. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. M Jackson. M is a geographer, adventurer, environmental educator, 2018 TED Fellow, and National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer. She studies and writes about glaciers and climate change. M earned a doctorate from the University of Oregon in geography and glaciology, where she examined how climate change transformed people and ice communities in Iceland. She’s worked for several decades in the Arctic and Antarctic chronicling climate change and communities, guiding backcountry trips and exploring glacial systems. Her 2015 book While Glaciers Slept: Being Human in a Time of Climate Change weaves together the parallel stories of what happens when the climates of a family and a planet change. Her second book, The Secret Lives of Icelandic Glaciers, was released in 2019. Jackson’s debut novel, The Ice Sings Back, will be released in 2023. She is currently the Climate and Energy host for Crash Course and starred as the science expert in the hit Netflix series, Pirate Gold of Adak Island. Media includes: National Geographical Society, Yes Magazine, The New York Times.

January 15th is the deadline for health insurance enrollment through the Affordable Care Act. To discuss, we FEATURE Laura Packard. Packard founded a non-profit, Health Care Voices, to organize adults with serious medical conditions for affordable comprehensive health care. Laura is Executive Director of Health Care Voter, a national campaign to hold elected officials accountable for their votes on health care, and support those who fight to protect our care. She also hosts CareTalk, a weekly consumer call-in TV show on act.tv and podcast, tackling health care and health insurance questions and topics. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Nation, MSNBC.

Teasers and interviews for Prince Harry's memoir Spree have recieved a lot of attention as he recounts his family history and the souring relationship with his brother Prince William as well as the treatment of his wife Meghan Markle. Markle, as an American Black woman, faced backlash from both the royal family and British tabloids. To discuss, we FEATURE Treva Lindsey. Treva is a Black feminist cultural critic, historian, and commentator. Her work covers topics ranging from violence against women to fashion at the Met Gala. Many of her pieces focus on representations and experiences of Black women, although her work on race, gender, sexuality, culture and politics encompasses the far-reaching and often untold effects of current events and pop culture moments. Her boldness, ability to connect history to current events, and wealth of knowledge about both pop culture and social justice issues brings readers to her work on multiple digital platforms. Her background as a historian, Black feminist, and media studies scholar anchors her approach to difficult conversations about violence, intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and politics, and media. Media includes: Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Huffington Post, Vox.

China has suspended issuing visas for South Korea and Japan due to COVID restrictions being put on Chinese travellers. To discuss, we FEATURE Ann Lee. Lee is an internationally recognized leading authority on China’s economic relations. Ann is the author of the book What the U.S. Can Learn from China, an award winning international bestseller, and the book Will China’s Economy Collapse? She is a former faculty member at Peking University, New York University, and Pace University where she taught macroeconomics and financial derivatives and was made an honorary professor at Sias University. She also has served on the boards and advisory boards of a number of companies that include Global Trust Group, Astor Jannsen, and Paragon One. Media includes: The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Businessweek, Fortune, Forbes, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC.